Some news on the passive safety development front, from Toyota. The Japanese automaker has announced a quartet of future vehicle safety systems, currently under development, which it is looking at introducing into its vehicles. Aimed at protecting older drivers and pedestrians, their development is in response to Japanese road accident statistics that show that more than half of road traffic deaths are of people aged 65 and over, and that pedestrians now account for more fatalities than vehicle occupants.
The first of these is an extension of the Pre-Crash Safety (PCS) system, now with collision-avoidance assist. Currently, the system can predict when a collision is imminent and instigate measures to reduce damage and the risk of injury. The latest development of the technology is designed to help avoid a collision happening altogether. Using the same millimetre-wave radar and miniature camera to monitor the road ahead, it works to help avoid a collision if the driver fails to apply the brakes, and is being further developed to help the driver steer a safe course in an emergency.
Second on the list is what the company calls emergency response technology, which incorporates a new system that can monitor cardio-vascular functions through the driver’s grip on the steering wheel and detect risks. Similar in essence to that being pursued by BMW in its Emergency Stop Assistant under its ConnectedDrive programme as well as Ford’s heart rate monitoring seat, Toyota is planning further research with a view to bringing a system to market.
Next is the adaptive driving beam. The company introduced an automatic high beam function on some of its cars two years ago, which switches the headlights to low beam when a camera detects the tail lights of vehicles ahead or the headlights of oncoming traffic, then restores high beam as soon as the road is clear.
It has now improved this technology with an Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB). This partially shields the high beam light so that it doesn’t shine directly in the face of drivers in vehicles ahead. This means it can prevent glare while maintaining best possible forward illumination of the road, reducing the risk of accidents.
Then there’s the pop-up bonnet, which can reduce the risk of head injury in a pedestrian-related frontal collisions. It automatically raises the rear of the bonnet to increase the space between it and the engine, which means it can be effective even on vehicles where the bonnet is set low, with limited clearance underneath.
© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.
This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 04 Aug 11 05:59:18 +0000.
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